[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 86 (Thursday, May 4, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26399-26403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6741]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-06-24219]
Real-Time System Management Information Program
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice requests comments on provisions and parameters for
the Real-Time System Management Information Program contained in
section 1201 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This notice
provides a high-level description of the program as envisioned by the
FHWA, including proposed definitions for various program parameters.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments for the docket number that
appears in the heading of this document to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or submit electronically at
http://dms.dot.gov/submit or fax comments to (202) 493-2251.
Alternatively, comments may be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking
portal at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments must include the
docket number that appears in the heading of this document. All
comments received will be available for examination and copying at the
above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of
comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or you may
print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments
electronically. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments in any one of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, or labor union). Anyone may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70, Pages 19477-78) or you may visit
http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about the program
discussed herein, contact Mr. Robert Rupert, Transportation Information
Management Team, FHWA Office of Operations, (202) 366-2194, or via e-
mail at robert.rupert@fhwa.dot.gov. For legal questions,
interpretations and counsel, please contact Ms. Lisa MacPhee, Attorney
Advisor, FHWA Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1392, or via e-
mail at lisa.macphee@fhwa.dot.gov. Office hours for the FHWA are from
7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access and Filing
You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Document
Management System (DMS) at http://dms.dot.gov/submit. Electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the
help section. Alternatively, Internet users may access all comments
received by the DOT Docket Facility by using the universal resource
locator (URL) http://dms.dot.gov. It is available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. Please follow the instructions. An electronic copy
of this document may also be downloaded by accessing the Office of the
Federal Register's home page at http://www.archives.gov and from the
Government Printing Office's Web page at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara.
Background
Section 1201 of the SAFETEA-LU (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144)
requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Real-time
System Management Information Program to provide, in all States, the
capability to monitor, in real-time, the traffic and travel conditions
of the major highways of the United States and to share that
information to improve the security of the surface transportation
system, to address congestion problems, to support improved response to
weather events and surface transportation incidents, and to facilitate
national and regional highway traveler information. The purposes of the
Real-time System Management Information Program are to:
(1) Establish, in all States, a system of basic real-time
information for managing and operating the surface transportation
system;
(2) Identify longer range real-time highway and transit monitoring
needs and develop plans and strategies for meeting such needs; and
(3) Provide the capability and means to share that data with State
and local governments and the traveling public.
In addition, section 1201(b) requires that no later than August 10,
2007, the Secretary establish data exchange formats to ensure that the
data provided by highway and transit monitoring systems, including
statewide incident reporting systems, can readily be exchanged across
jurisdictional boundaries, facilitating nationwide availability of
information. Section 1201(c) states that as State and local governments
develop or update regional intelligent transportation system
architectures, described in section 940.9 of title 23, Code of Federal
Regulations, such governments shall explicitly
[[Page 26400]]
address real-time highway and transit information needs and the systems
needed to meet such needs, including addressing coverage, monitoring
systems, data fusion and archiving, and methods of exchanging or
sharing highway and transit information. States shall incorporate the
data exchange formats established by the Secretary to ensure that the
data provided by highway and transit monitoring systems may readily be
exchanged with State and local governments and may be made available to
the traveling public.
While the program description proposed in this notice relates to
minimum parameters and requirements, the program should be expandable
to additional highways and surface transportation facilities.
Purpose of This Notice
The purpose of this notice is to request comments and input to the
proposed description of the Real-time System Management Information
Program, including its outcome goals, definitions for various program
parameters, and the current status of related activities in the States.
These comments and input will be used in the development of program
guidance for State and local governments' use in implementing systems
under the Real-time System Management Information Program.
While there are questions presented on specific aspects of the
Real-time System Management Information Program, comments and input may
be offered on any part of this notice. In order to provide informed
comments and input to some questions, it may be necessary to read the
entire notice. To assist the reader in providing answers, the specific
questions presented throughout the notice are summarized at the
conclusion.
The primary audience for this notice is expected to be State and
local departments of transportation that will develop and implement
systems under the real-time system management information program.
Other audiences for this notice include, but are not limited to, other
local and regional transportation agencies engaged in managing and
monitoring surface transportation systems in real-time, and agencies
responsible for traffic incident management activities such as
detection, response and clearance. Private sector firms that are
involved in collecting and providing real-time system management
information for surface transportation systems, either in concert with
public transportation agencies or independently, may also be interested
in providing input to this notice.
Real-Time System Management Information Program
Program Purpose
The purpose of the Real-time System Management Information Program
is to provide the capability to monitor, in real-time, the traffic and
travel conditions of the major highways of the United States and to
share that information to improve surface transportation system
security, address congestion, improve response to weather events and
surface transportation incidents, and to facilitate national and
regional highway traveler information.
Program Funding
A State may use its National Highway System, Congestion Mitigation
and Air Quality Improvement program, and Surface Transportation
Federal-aid program apportionments for activities related to the
planning and deployment of real-time monitoring elements that advance
the goals of the Real-time System Management Information Program. The
FHWA has issued policy guidance, available at http://
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/travelinfo/resources/ops_memo.htm, indicating
that transportation system operations activities, such as real-time
monitoring, are eligible under the major Federal-aid programs noted
previously, within the requirements of the specific programs. State
planning and research funds may also be used for activities relating to
the planning of real-time monitoring elements.
Program Goals
By September 30, 2009, the Real-Time System Management Information
Program shall:
(1) Establish, in all States, a system of basic real-time
information for managing and operating the surface transportation
system;
(2) Identify longer range real-time highway and transit monitoring
needs and develop plans and strategies for meeting those needs; and
(3) Provide the capability and means to share the data with State
and local governments and the traveling public.
Section 1201 does not specify a time frame for implementing the
Real-time System Management Information Program. The FHWA proposes the
implementation date of September 30, 2009, since it coincides with the
expiration of the SAFETEA-LU authorization.
Questions: Does September 30, 2009 represent a reasonable time
period for implementing the Real-time System Management Information
Program? What potential obstacles would prevent program implementation
by this date? What would be a reasonable time frame for implementing
the program?
Program Outcomes
The Real-Time System Management Information Program shall result
in:
(1) Publicly available traveler information Web site(s) providing
access to information that is derived from the real-time information
collected by the system established under the program;
(2) 511 Travel Information telephone service(s) providing to
callers information that is derived from the real-time information
collected by the system established under the program;
(3) Regional Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Architectures
updated to reflect the systems established under the program; and
(4) Access to the data collected by the system established under
the program in an established data exchange format through standard
Internet protocol (IP) communications links.
Outcomes (1) and (2) relate to commonly available methods used by
public sector agencies to disseminate traffic and traveler information.
Outcome (3) relates directly to a requirement in section 1201(c)(1)
regarding regional ITS architectures. Outcome (4) relates to the use of
common data exchange formats required by section 1201(c)(2).
Questions: Are the proposed outcomes appropriate for gauging the
success of a system implemented under the program? What other measures
for success would be useful?
Program Parameters
As part of describing the real-time system management information
program, it is necessary to establish definitions for various
parameters under the program. These parameters will define the content
and context for systems developed and implemented under the program. As
noted above under the program purpose, traffic and travel conditions of
major highways are to be monitored in real-time. This notice proposes
definitions for three principal terms used in describing the program's
purpose--major highways, traffic and travel conditions, and real-time.
Major Highways
We propose that, as a minimum, major highways to be monitored by
the systems implemented under the real-time system management
information program include all National Highway
[[Page 26401]]
System (NHS) routes and other limited access roadways. In metropolitan
areas, major arterials with congested travel should be included in the
coverage areas of systems implemented under the Real-time System
Management Information Program.
The NHS includes the Interstate Highway System as well as other
roads important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility. The NHS
was developed by the DOT in cooperation with the States, local
officials, and metropolitan planning organizations. More detailed
information about the NHS is available from the FHWA at http://
www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep10/nhs/. Because of the criteria under which the
NHS was developed, it provides a sound foundation for the highways to
be monitored under the program. Adding major arterials in metropolitan
areas helps the program address congestion as noted in the purpose of
the program.
Question: Is this proposed definition of ``major highways''
adequate and appropriate for the purposes of the Real-time System
Management Information Program?
Traffic and Travel Conditions
We propose that the basic traffic and travel conditions to be
monitored by systems implemented under the Real-time System Management
Information program include:
--Road or lane closures because of construction, traffic incidents, or
roadway weather conditions;
--Roadway weather or other environmental conditions restricting or
adversely affecting travel;
--Extent and degree of congested conditions, i.e., length of roadway
experiencing stop-and-go or very slow (e.g., prevailing speed of
traffic less than half of speed limit) traffic;
--In metropolitan areas that experience recurring traffic congestion,
travel times or speeds on limited access roadways; and
--In metropolitan areas that experience recurring traffic congestion,
disruptions to public transportation services and facilities.
These basic traffic and travel conditions are based on work
conducted by the National 511 Deployment Coalition (Coalition) in
developing its guidelines for implementing 511 travel information
telephone services. The Coalition guidelines are available from the 511
Deployment Coalition at http://www.deploy511.org. In general, the
minimum conditions are intended to capture events and occurrences that
reduce the capacity of highways (lane closures and adverse weather
conditions) or present unsafe travel conditions (congestion). In
congested metropolitan areas, the minimum conditions are enhanced
through the addition of travel times and transit service disruptions as
a way of capturing system performance.
Question: How well do the proposed traffic and travel conditions
represent reasonable and appropriate basic requirements for the Real-
time System Management Information Program?
Real-Time
Systems implemented under the real-time system management
information program will monitor and reflect current traffic and travel
conditions according to the following minimum criteria:
--Construction activities affecting travel conditions, such as
implementing or removing lane closures, will be available as program
information within 30 minutes of the change, with changes to be
available within 15 minutes in metropolitan areas with frequent or
recurring traffic congestion;
--Roadway or lane blocking traffic incident information will be
available as program information within 15 minutes of the incident
being detected or reported and verified;
--Roadway weather conditions are updated as program information no less
frequently than 30 minutes;
--Traffic congestion information will be updated as program information
no less frequently than 15 minutes; and
--Travel time information, when reported and available as program
information, will reflect travel conditions occurring no older than 10
minutes.
--Public transportation service disruptions, when reported, will be
updated as program information no less frequently than 30 minutes.
Since the Real-time System Management Information Program applies
to all States, these minimum criteria reflect systems that employ
manual entry of information. Systems that use more automated or
integrated information entry processes may be able to reflect changes
in conditions virtually immediately. These criteria are intended to
present aggressive but realistic time frames for reporting and entering
information including manual entry, remotely polled sensor stations, or
calculation of values. The proposed criteria also consider the
usefulness of the information to travelers, hence the decreased amount
of time for recording construction activities in congested metropolitan
areas.
Question: How well do the proposed criteria for determining real-
time information represent reasonable and appropriate minimums for
systems implemented under the Real-time System Management Information
Program?
Information Quality
The quality of the real-time system management information depends
on the techniques and technologies used to record the information. The
Real-time System Management Information Program will not specify
technologies or methods to be used to collect information; however,
levels of quality for general attributes may be provided. The following
proposed levels of quality for two attributes are based on the report
``Closing the Data Gap: Guidelines for Quality Advanced Traveler
Information System (ATIS) Data'' that is available from the DOT at
http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPT_MIS/13580.html
(Intelligent Transportation Society of America, ATIS Committee;
September 2000).
Accuracy
Accuracy indicates how closely the recorded information matches the
actual conditions. All sensors and data collection systems are subject
to inaccuracies from situations such as physical obstructions, weather
conditions, and radio frequency interference. The more accurate the
data are, the higher the quality of information recorded by the system.
This attribute is typically characterized using percentages, either as
a percentage of accuracy or as an error percentage. For example, a
system may be characterized as being 90 percent accurate or having a 10
percent error rate. This attribute is used to describe the average
performance of the sensors or data collection system. The FHWA is
considering proposing that systems implemented under the real-time
system management information program are to be 85 percent accurate at
a minimum, or have a maximum error rate of 15 percent.
Availability
Availability indicates how much of the data designed to be
collected is made available. While sensors and data collection systems
are usually designed to operate continuously, inevitably a user of the
data will lose access from time to time. This attribute describes the
average probability that a given data element will be available for use
from a particular sensor or data collection system. For example, if a
sensor records average speeds at a specific point over five minute
intervals, 12 data points are generated each hour. Over the course of
[[Page 26402]]
a year, 105,120 data points should be recorded; however, if 2,100 data
points were not available for use over the course of the year, the
availability would be 98 percent. This attribute essentially combines
factors such as sensor or system reliability, maintenance
responsiveness, and fault tolerance into a single measure related to
data output. The better the traffic sensor data collection system is
designed, operated and maintained, the higher the availability. The
FHWA is considering proposing that systems implemented under the Real-
time System Management Information Program are to have 90 percent
availability at a minimum.
Question: How well do these proposed attributes present reasonable
minimum requirements for systems implemented under the Real-time System
Management Information Program? Are any other minimum requirements
necessary?
Data Exchange Formats
Section 1201(b) requires that within two years of the date of
enactment of SAFETEA-LU, the Secretary of Transportation is to
establish data exchange formats to ensure that the data provided by
highway and transit monitoring systems, including statewide incident
reporting systems, can be readily exchanged to facilitate nationwide
availability of information. States shall also incorporate these data
exchange formats in the systems they implement to support the Real-time
System Management Information Program. If after development, the data
exchange formats are officially adopted through rulemaking by the DOT,
part 940 of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, requires in section
940.11(f) that all ITS projects funded with highway trust funds shall
use the applicable DOT-adopted ITS standards.
Because of the array of available technical standards for data
communication, the exchange formats may not require additional
standards to be developed. Standards developed for center-to-center
communications and for traveler information will form the basis of the
exchange formats. The FHWA will assess the standards to identify the
elements most important for information to be exchanged under the
program. Among the standards to be assessed and analyzed are:
--Standard for Traffic Incident Management Message Sets for Use by
Emergency Management Centers (EMC), Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) P1512.1;
--Standard for Common Incident Management Message Sets (IMMS) for use
by EMCs, IEEE P1512-2000;
--Standard for Public Safety IMMS for use by EMCs, IEEE P1512.2;
--Standard for Hazardous Material IMMS for use by EMCs, IEEE P1512.3;
--Standard for Functional Level Traffic Management Data Dictionary,
Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) TM 1.03;
--Message Sets for External Transportation Management Center
Communication (MS/ETMCC), ITE TM 2.01;
--Transit Communication Interface Protocol (TCIP) Traffic Management
Business Area Standard, ITE TS 3.TM;
--National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP)
Center-to-Center Naming Convention Specification, NTCIP 1104;
--NTCIP Object Definitions for Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS),
NTCIP 1204;
--NTCIP Weather Reports Message Set for ESS, NTCIP 1301;
--TCIP--Standard on Common Public Transportation Objects, NTCIP 1401;
--TCIP--Standard on Incident Management Objects, NTCIP 1402;
--TCIP--Standard on Passenger Information Objects, NTCIP 1403;
--TCIP--Standard on Scheduling/Runcutting Objects, NTCIP 1404;
--TCIP--Standard on Spatial Representation Objects, NTCIP 1405;
--NTCIP Transport Profile for Internet, NTCIP 2202;
--NTCIP Application Profile for File Transfer Protocol, NTCIP 2303;
--NTCIP eXtensible Markup Language (XML) in ITS Center-to-Center
Communications, NTCIP 2306;
--Location referencing Message Specification, Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) J2266;
--Data Dictionary for Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS), SAE
J2353;
--Message Set for ATIS, SAE J2354;
--National Location Referencing Information Report, SAE J2374;
--Rules for Standardizing Street Names and Route Identification, SAE
J2529; and
--Messages for Handling Strings and Look-Up Tables in ATIS Standards,
SAE J2540.
More information about these standards is available at http://
www.standards.its.dot.gov/.
Existing Reporting Capabilities
While all States collect various data periodically to support
national reporting requirements, such as the Highway Performance
Monitoring System, a number of States currently have systems that
provide information that, at some level, is comparable to that proposed
for the Real-time System Management Information Program. As of March
2006, there are 28 systems that provide travel information through
``511'' telephone services that are operating in 24 States. Virtually
every State department of transportation operates an Internet Web site
that offers some highway condition information to the public. There are
pooled fund efforts among States that have developed highway condition
and reporting systems. Some State departments of transportation that
have developed statewide reporting systems to serve as inventories or
databases to keep track of the agency's roadway construction and
maintenance activities.
The Real-time System Management Information Program will be
developed to take advantage of the existing reporting and information
sharing capabilities, and build upon them where applicable. In
addition, the Real-time System Management Information Program should
complement current transportation performance reporting systems by
making it easier to gather or enhance required information. To ensure
that the most current status information is used, responders are
requested to answer the following questions:
Questions
What system is currently employed by the State department of
transportation or other public agency to inventory highway conditions
such as construction and maintenance activities, traffic incidents,
traffic flow, or other real-time performance of the roadways?
What types of information are recorded by the reporting system,
i.e., what traffic or travel conditions are recorded?
How is the reported information provided to the public?
How broadly is the reported information shared with neighboring
jurisdictions or other agencies?
What data or communications standards are used by the reporting
systems, either for recording information or for sharing information?
Resources Available from FHWA
The FHWA is committed to helping achieve the goals and outcomes of
the Real-time System Management Information Program. The FHWA offers a
number of resources to assist States as they consider, develop and
deploy real-time monitoring systems:
[[Page 26403]]
--FHWA Division Offices, located in each State, provide assistance in
developing and approving projects;
--The FHWA Resource Center provides technical assistance for systems
architecture, standards, integration and system operations to States,
metropolitan planning organizations, and local jurisdictions;
--The Peer-to-Peer Program offers various ways for States and others to
exchange knowledge and provide assistance on specific aspects of real-
time system information; and
--FHWA Web sites for Traveler Information (http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/
travelinfo/), ITS Architecture (http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/its_
arch_ imp/), and Standards Implementation (http://
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/int_its_deployment/standards_imp/
standards.htm) provide information relevant to real-time system
management information.
Summary of Questions
A summary of the specific questions posed in this notice follows.
Responders are reminded that comments and input may be offered on any
part of this notice.
--Does September 30, 2009, represent a reasonable time period for
implementing the real-time system management information program? What
potential obstacles would prevent program implementation by this date?
What would be a reasonable time frame for implementing the program?
--Are the proposed outcomes--traveler information Web sites, 511
traveler information telephone services, updated regional ITS
architectures, and access to data over the Internet--appropriate for
gauging the success of a system implemented under the program? What
other measures for success would be useful?
--Is the proposed definition of ``major highways'' adequate and
appropriate for the purposes of the Real-time System Management
Information Program?
--How well do the proposed traffic and travel conditions represent
reasonable and appropriate basic requirements for the Real-time System
Management Information Program?
--How well do the proposed criteria for determining real-time
information represent reasonable and appropriate minimums for systems
implemented under the Real-time System Management Information Program?
--How well do the proposed quality attributes of the information
present reasonable minimum requirements for systems implemented under
the Real-time System Management Information Program?
--What system is currently employed by the State department of
transportation or other public agency to inventory highway conditions
such as construction and maintenance activities, traffic incidents,
traffic flow, or other real-time performance of the roadways?
--What types of information are recorded by the reporting system, i.e.,
what traffic or travel conditions are recorded?
--How is the reported information provided to the public?
--How broadly is the reported information shared with neighboring
jurisdictions or other agencies?
--What data or communications standards are used by the reporting
systems, either for recording information or for sharing information?
Issued on: April 28, 2006.
Frederick G. Wright, Jr.,
Executive Director, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-6741 Filed 5-3-06; 8:45 am]
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